


Even When the Night Changes (It Will Never Change Me and You)

by WakeUpDreaming



Category: Scorpion (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Discussion of Megan's condition, F/M, Feelings, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2015-11-21
Packaged: 2018-05-02 15:16:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5253056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WakeUpDreaming/pseuds/WakeUpDreaming
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set between 2x09 and 2x10. Everyone is on edge as they begin to realize just how dire Megan's condition is, and Happy suddenly realizes a change in Toby's personality.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Even When the Night Changes (It Will Never Change Me and You)

**Author's Note:**

> Title from One Direction's "Night Changes." Written for the prompt "Happy has been extra critical of Toby's bad habits lately... What happens when he internalizes them and goes quiet and she has to be the one to pull him back to his usual quirk" by zzzapboom on tumblr. Hope you like it!

She’s not sure when she noticed it. He hasn’t been joking, hasn’t been making his dumb puns, hasn’t been wearing that stupid hat.

It feels wrong.

She’s been uneasy for days, with Megan’s illness ramping up, Walter and Sly being balls of anxious energy and panic, and Paige doing six pounds of paperwork every five minutes. It hasn’t felt right.

Nothing’s felt right in a while.

She’s curled up on top of her work bench, her legs folded underneath her, as she flips through a book. She’s got no idea what she’s looking at, just pictures and letters and numbers fluttering across her vision as she turns page after page.

Toby is at his desk wearing his headphones, probably playing one of his ridiculous 80’s rock songs again. Then she realizes how weird it is that she can’t tell. Usually his music is loud enough to echo around the whole room even with his headphones plugged in.

Happy fidgets, uncomfortable.

Walter and Sly are at Megan’s preparing the room for when the parental O’Briens come to visit in a few days, so it’s just Paige, Toby, Ralph, and Happy silently working.

Happy sets down her book and walks to Paige, who jumps half a foot when Happy taps her fingers on Paige’s desk.

“Sorry!” Happy says, wincing. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

Paige offers a smile and waves off the concern. “Don’t worry about it,” Paige says. “Everything okay?”

Happy opens her mouth, then closes it. She’s got no idea if everything’s okay. All she can tell is that everything’s off. But maybe this is how normal people deal with worry and grief.

Paige studies her face. “Something’s not okay,” Paige says quietly. “Are you alright?”

Happy shrugs, leaning against Paige’s desk. “I might be,” she pauses, trying to find the words, “uncomfortable with the Megan situation.”

Paige turns to her, dropping the papers and folding her hands on her lap in a manner not unlike a psychologist. “Okay,” she says. “Tell me about it.”

Happy frowns. “I just did,” she says. “What else is there?”

Paige visibly deflates and swings back around on her desk. “One day, you’re going to be able to talk about this stuff,” she says, her eyes looking over to Toby. “And maybe him too. I’ve never seen him like this, have you?”

“Like what?” Happy says, pretending she doesn’t know what Paige is talking about.

Paige stares at her. “He’s not wearing his hat, he’s made no jokes in the past three days, his music is quiet.” She shrugs. “He’s the first one who would say it’s a cry for help.”

Happy can’t help but look over at Toby. She doesn’t want to be concerned, but she is, and that might bother her just as much as Toby’s sudden personality change.

Paige’s eyes lock on Happy’s. “You know what?” she says, something in the background of her voice. “It’s late. Ralph and I are going to head back home.”

She walks over to Ralph, who’s sitting quietly on the couch, and says something to him that Happy can’t hear.

He nods. “See you later, Happy,” Ralph says. He hesitates for a minute then runs straight at Happy, throwing his arms around her in a hug Happy’s not sure she’s ever gotten before.

“I hope you feel better,” Ralph says into Happy’s jacket. With one last squeeze, Ralph lets go and hops back over to Paige, who waves as they leave.

Happy feels even weirder than she did at the beginning of her talk with Paige.

She stands, her mind blank for the first time since before preschool, in the middle of the room. She might finally be overwhelmed.

She doesn’t like it.

“Hap?” says Toby. His voice is gentler and quieter than she’s ever heard.

Happy turns. “Yeah, what?” she asks. She doesn’t know why her tone is so angry. She doesn’t know why she only partially turns to him, why she crosses her arms like a defense.

“Just checking on you,” Toby says, offering a small smile.

“Yeah, well don’t,” Happy snaps back. She winces at her own words, not sure how to stop them from coming out as harsh and bitter as February air. She feels broken and bruised and so angry she can’t speak, and she doesn’t know where it’s coming from. Everything feels wrong and wrinkled in time. She can’t handle it.

Instead of snapping back, Toby just nods and says, “Alright.”

For some reason, that breaks the dam. “Are you serious?” Happy asks. “Alright? This time last week you would have psychoanalyzed me to death and back. And then kept it up until I said something you could make fun of me with!”

Toby’s eyes widen, and it’s clear he’s not any more aware of why Happy’s angry than she is. “I’m sorry,” Toby says.

It just enrages Happy more. “What is with you?!” she shrieks, feeling more out of control than she has in decades. “No hat, no jokes, no music blasting through the place? Why can’t you just be normal? Why aren’t you you?”

Toby stares at her in complete confusion. “Because you told me it was annoying,” Toby says simply. “And with the climate surrounding Megan, I wanted to make everything as easy for everybody as I could.”

Happy stares at him. “What are you even talking about?” she asks. She feels the anger bleeding out, oxidizing into shame and confusion.

“At the hospital last week,” Toby says. “You told me my hat was stupid, and then after that you told me to stop making my jokes, that they were annoying. And then when we got back here,” Toby shrugs. “You asked me to keep my music down. So I did.”

“Why?” Happy asks. But there’s not as much bite in the words.

Toby stands and walks toward her, stopping with plenty of space between them. “Because we’re all going through a lot right now, as much as we don’t want to admit it, and if something I was doing was making it worse I figured I could do my part to stop hurting you.”

Happy stares at him. “Well making all those changes was stupid. And it wasn’t you.”

Toby smiles. “I thought you didn’t like me.”

“Of course I like you,” Happy says back. Then she pauses and stares at him. “I mean –”

Toby’s smile is serious and understanding. “I know,” he says.

Happy doesn’t think before walking over and hugging Toby, burying her face in his chest to block out everything else. Somehow he became safe for her, and she’s done denying that. For now he’s her safe spot and she’ll think about what that means when she’s not this messed up.

Toby’s definitely startled for a second, then he wraps his arms around Happy. They stay there, standing silently, for a long time. She feels him rest his chin on top of her head a few minutes in.

“Okay,” Happy says, not letting go, “I think I’m good.”

Toby doesn’t let go either when he says, “Me too.”

“Get your stupid hat back,” Happy grumbles.

“Okay.”

“And if you don’t make your stupid jokes again the place will just get even more depressing.”

“Okay.”

Happy feels better, a little more comfortable than she has since they found out just how sick Megan really was. “I’m going to let go now,” Happy says, not letting go.

Toby’s arms are still around her when he says, “Me too.”


End file.
